Stand up and cheer

Jorge Luis Fernandez might be one of the most outgoing and personable students at Winters High School. Because of the six clubs and one sport he has been active in, he can be difficult to track down on campus. When Fernandez is not busy with a sport or club, you can usually find him at a sporting event with his camera.   Fernandez is active in Interact, Friday Night Live, Art Club, Friends Without Borders, Airsoft Club (where he is vice president) and Cheer Squad. Next year cheerleading will be reclassified to be a sport. Fernandez is excited and can’t wait for the opportunities that will come with the changes. He has been the back spotter and base lifter for the cheer squad. Next year he hopes to continue with these two positions and make Cheer Captain. A personal goal of his is to be able to do a lift with only himself as the base lifter. To accomplish this Fernandez hits the weight room every morning at 6:30. After Fernandez graduates he plans to attend either Solano Community College or University of Nevada at Reno and continue with cheer. “Cheer costs a lot of money,” Fernandez said. To keep up with the cost Fernandez works part-time on weekends at the Buckhorn Steakhouse as a dishwasher. In the summer he hopes to expand his work to Buckhorn Catering. Fernandez’s goal is to be able to pay for next year’s cheer, without any help from his parents. “It is important to me to help my parents with whatever I am able,” said Fernandez. “My parents have done so much for me that I am happy to help them out in any way I can.” On the track team, Fernandez competes in the 100 hurdles, the 300 hurdles, the 4×4 relay, the 1600 meter and the 3200 meter race. Fernandez’s best event is the 3200 meter race. This year Fernandez shaved 2:30 minutes off his qualifying time for last year’s Division III Championships. Fernandez now runs the two mile race in around 11 minutes. “My favorite event in track is the relays,” said Fernandez. “I get to compete with my friends and we are able to help each other progress in the event.” Fernandez says that he regularly attends City Council meetings and speaks as a voice for the youth in town. He sometimes will offer ideas to the Council on how they can get the city’s youth more involved. Fernandez also is a member of the Youth City Council, where he works with a combination of youth and adults to plan parts of Youth Day. In the last couple of years Fernandez has worked on some projects with the Putah Creek Council. He has helped the council to clean up the creek area and to make the park more eco-friendly, for the Public and wildlife that live in the creek. When all these endeavours do not require Fernandez’s attention, he can often be found at a sporting event with his camera. As a part of the ASB-Journalism class at the high school, Fernandez has been very dedicated to taking photos for the yearbook. Next year Fernandez hopes to still be a part of ASB Government and also take the new class journalism and yearbook classes being offered. Fernandez’s work with the yearbook has cultivated his love for photography. He plans to continue with his photographic endeavors after graduation.  ]]>